


Beautiful Disaster

by Sailor_Taurus



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga), Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Love/Hate, Political Alliances, Post Sailor Stars, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-05-31 02:39:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15110099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sailor_Taurus/pseuds/Sailor_Taurus
Summary: Jinchuuriki are no longer the target in the new era of Akatsuki. As the Senshi learn of their connection to The Elemental Nations, one by one they begin to meet their new fates. The line between love and hate is so thin.





	1. Prologue : War

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a re-write from a story I started in 2007 and was originally posted on ff(dot)net under the penname Sailor Taurus Angel. This is my first encounter with AO3 so any mishaps I've made, please feel free to point them out. My goal is to sew these worlds together in a seamless fashion, it's my favorite part of writing crossovers. I'm incredibly proud of this chapter to be my first step back into writing after 10 years, I hope you all enjoy it as well.
> 
> This is set two years after The Fourth Shinobi War during the "Blank Period"/Hiden Light Novels, and three years after the defeat of Chaos, leaving the Senshi and Konoha 11 roughly around 23-24.
> 
> This is more of a Makoto-centered fic, with secondary characters being Rei and Hotaru. The other Senshi, especially, Setsuna and Usagi, will have more of a main role in the beginning, but once the plot picks up it will focus on Mako, Rei, and Hota.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome!

 

 

 

 

### Prologue: War

Sailor Pluto grasped the silver-haired woman's hand, "Please! Please, don't do this! I can change time! Please, let me sacrifice myself for you!" The normally stoic Senshi of Time was now crying freely in front of her queen.  
  
Queen Serenity sweetly placed her hands on Sailor Pluto's, her thoughtful and calm eyes never giving any indication that the crumbling Moon Kingdom around them was a concern.

"I will not allow that. You must look after the reincarnation of Princess Serenity and the others. They will need you, and if you change time, you will not exist. I gave you that rule myself… Besides, we've already lost too many lives today, I could not bear to lose yours as well." Just as Queen Serenity finished speaking, a large portion of the palace fell in front of them.

Serenity turned to the still crying Pluto, her silver eyebrows furrowed together, "She is here. You have to go. We can only seal her once you all have been sent to Earth," Another large crash was heard outside the door of the room that they were in, the voices of people screaming could now be heard.

"I will ask one more thing of you," Serenity whispered as she reached out and touched Pluto's planetary mark, her hand and Pluto's forehead began to glow, "No matter how many times you are reincarnated, you must never forget that she can never find Princess Serenity or the other princesses… And you must never tell them of this part of their past. I have now imbued that into your soul forever."

She pulled her hand away, and Pluto's eyes slowly opened, looking back at her queen for what she knew would be the last time.

"I swear to you, I will always protect them from her."

-:- Present Day, Tokyo Japan -:-

 

Sailor Jupiter dropped to her hands and knees, her form shaking with each heaving, jagged breath her lungs could claim. Suddenly an arm was around her waist helping her stand.

"What hell was that!?" Sailor Uranus shouted to the other Senshi, shifting Sailor Jupiter's arm over her shoulder to distribute her weight.

Sailor Mercury scrambled over to what was left of the body, pulling out her mini-computer and scanning the remains with her glasses.

"There's hardly anything I can identify on this body!" She cursed, typing furiously on her computer.

The rest of the Senshi began slowly walking closer to the remains. The creatures' skin was dark black and milky-white, bulky inhuman limbs were encasing its head.

Sailor Pluto stood silently while leaning on her staff, her hair disheveled, and eyes glaring mercilessly at the body. She knew exactly where that was from.

"We need to leave. Now." Her voice struck through each of them like an arrow.

"What are you talking about?" Sailor Saturn was the first to question the tall Senshi of Time, all pairs of their eyes now focused on the woman.

"I know where that creature is from. I know where we need to go to seek answers for this. Hurry, we'll reconvene at the shrine. I'll take care of the body, you all go home and pack lightly. Meet there in one hour." Before they could protest, she had made her way to the remains, and in a flash had warped herself and the body out of their sight.

Sailor Moon delicately clutched Tuxedo Kamen's sleeve, and he placed a sweet kiss on her forehead, "Don't worry, everything will be alright, Usako." He whispered into her hair. She closed her eyes leaning slightly into his body; he always knew how to calm her down.

 

* * *

 

Patiently all seven Senshi and their future king and queen waited for the Setsuna to make her way to Hikawa Shrine.

Makoto hugged her knees gingerly to her chin, very aware of how sore her body was from the recent fight against the monster. Her eyes somberly stared at the outside steps that she and the others were currently sitting on. Her thoughts focused intently on every mistake she made in the fight. She couldn't help but be disappointed in just how weak the one monster made her and all the others out to be.

"The sky seems to be reflecting our emotions this evening," Michiru commented, regarding the darkened sky above them as they all waited outside.

"Do you think she's alright?" Asked Minako to no one in particular, as Ami finished inspecting and bandaging everyone's wounds ending lastly with Minako.

Rei stood up dusting herself off, "I'm sure she's fine. She most likely is just dealing with preparations for whatever it is she is about to have us do." She began collecting the empty teacups from her friends. She had made tea to calm them down and help pass the time, but that was two hours prior.

"I'll make more tea if anyone would like some?" Rei asked, balancing the last cup on her tray.

"That won't be necessary, Rei." They turned to see Setsuna walking up the last of the stairs in her civilian attire. She no longer had the creature with her and looked utterly exhausted.

"Setsuna-chan, what's the meaning of all of this?" Usagi asked, stepping away from Mamoru's side, and walking closer to her Guardian of Time.

Setsuna gave Usagi a small smile, and held her arm out to usher her back towards the others, "I have spoken briefly with the person in charge of the lands where the monster we faced came from. Come, let's all sit for a moment." She spoke quietly, gesturing for them all to go inside and sit somewhere a bit more private.

Makoto could feel her heart fluttering in her chest, she knew Setsuna was acting very strangely, and for her to be this rattled was certain to mean nothing good.

"That creature is from a land on our Earth called The Elemental Nations. This place consists of villages hidden throughout desolate parts of our world, and they have purposefully locked themselves out from our more modern society. Two years ago, their land underwent a catastrophic war, and at the center of the evil that caused it, was the monster we just faced. Many years it plotted and schemed and turned families, villages, and nations against one another to get the results it wanted… And now it has spilled into our world…" Setsuna had to stand now, she was already having a difficult time keeping herself calm, and sitting was not helping.

"I felt that one day our two worlds would break the barrier and overlap, I just hoped that I was wrong. The shinobi of their lands have always done a great job at containing their crises to their portions of the world, keeping the rest of modern society safe. Each village has many warrior shinobi that protect their world." She had begun to pace as steadily as she could through the room, the eyes of her king, queen, and fellow Senshi following her every step and emotion.

"But now… I'm afraid we cannot ignore this. If we are to keep this evil from entering our world, we need to return to where it is from, and ally ourselves with The Elemental Nations. We cannot do this alone, and they cannot do this without our help." Setsuna's eyes fell directly to her king and queen, she could not help but feel terrible for not being able to prevent this from happening.

"But there's still so much you haven't explained. What was the monster? What does it want with us? I understand that we have to leave to put ourselves at the front lines of this and unite with this other nation, but… Why are you so afraid, Setsuna?" Makoto asked the question everyone wanted to know. Silence clung to the room as Setsuna had to avert her eyes from the brunette.

"I'm sorry for worrying you all. I-… My concern comes from that fact that I did not see this as a part of our futures. But I assure you that this will be resolved, and we will all be able to resume our lives here in Tokyo once more." She glanced at Usagi and Mamoru again, they had only been married for a year and a half, and she knew they were going to be trying for a child soon. Their happy ending had already begun, and now a future was happening that was never meant to happen.

"I know you all still have so many questions, but I think that it's best that we make our way to the village of Konoha, which is where we will all be staying and beginning our mission of helping the Shinobi of their world. I have already spoken to their leader, the Hokage, Hatake Kakashi and he is prepared for our arrival. We will be meeting with him as soon as we arrive." She watched as Usagi stood up first, a warm smile on her face.

"Thank you, Setsuna for always looking out for us," Usagi now turned to face the girls as they as well began to stand up, "Alright everyone, let's transform and get going!" She shouted, rallying her Senshi as best as she could.

 _"She's really grown up…"_ Thought Setsuna while trying to swallow the pang of guilt thrumming through her body, she did not deserve her queen's praise.

 

* * *

 

 

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi looked up, his brows furrowed apprehensively as he locked his gaze with Shizune's, "The Sailor Senshi have just arrived, are you ready for them?"

He nodded his head slightly and clasped his hands together, "Yes, go ahead and send them up. I would like to meet with them first without the council here." Shizune paused, knowing it was going to be difficult to keep the elders out of Kakashi's hair while he was in a meeting of this magnitude, but this was her job now.

"Of course, sir." She shut the door quietly behind herself and made her way to the group that was waiting anxiously at her desk.

Per Setsuna's instructions, after they teleported to Konoha, the girls had detransformed as soon as they arrived. She explained that a group of women walking around in fukus was incredibly out of the ordinary in this part of the world. Maintaining a low profile was imperative at this time.

Makoto stood with her arms crossed looking down upon the villagers through the large expansive window, the rest of the Senshi were speaking softly amongst themselves in the quiet waiting room behind her.

"It's beautiful here don't you think?" Hotaru asked, standing next to her taller friend with a smile upon her lips. Makoto glanced towards her briefly, reflecting the same smile that she had received. Hotaru had grown up into such a lovely and intelligent young woman.

Makoto looked back down at the people, "You know, it's just shocking me a bit I guess that all this exists in the very world we live in too. All of these people, and we would have never even known they existed until now."

"Yeah, it's a bit scary to think about it. Our world just got a lot bigger… A lot more people to protect." Hotaru felt an arm on her shoulder and looked up at Haruka's reassuring grin.

"Don't be afraid, little firefly. Everything will be alright." Haruka assured her adoptive daughter, no matter that the girl was 20, Haruka would always view her as her child.

"You know, I'm really glad that even though this is an awful situation, we've ended up in such a beautiful place." Makoto said softly to the two of them, keeping her eyes on the distant trees swaying in the wind, while Haruka stared up at the faces of the Hokages' on the side of the mountain.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that you're liking our village already." The three turned around, along with the other Senshi, to see the smiling woman they had spoken to before.

"Hokage-sama is ready to see you now," Shizune spoke kindly to all of them, leading the way to his office door. She quietly knocked, and then opened the door, "I present our Sixth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi. Hokage-sama, our honored guests, the Sailor Senshi, and their King Chiba Mamoru and Queen, Tsukino Usagi." Each group bowed respectfully to the other.

"Please, have a seat." Kakashi gestured after all formal introductions were made from each Senshi.

"I'm pleased to meet all of you, I only wish it were under better circumstances," Kakashi scratched his head as he spoke, scanning the eyes of each of the persons before him, he let his gaze linger a noticeably longer time on Setsuna than any of the others.

"I'm certain that you all have a lot of questions that you would like to have answered, and I assure you that I will do my best to provide them. But first, I feel I should start with a short background as to how your situation relates to ours. Does that sound good to all of you?" He watched as all of the members eventually nodded in agreement, some apprehensive, and some clearly having complete faith in him.

Setsuna looked to be the most apprehensive. She had shown up in his office with the body of White Zetsu at her feet a mere three hours prior to this meeting. She'd clearly had a plan of exactly who and where to go to if this situation had come to light, he only wished he could have met her sooner to prepare a little better himself.

"The monster you faced today was called White Zetsu. To our knowledge, it was killed two years ago during The Fourth Shinobi War that took place here. It was a part of a group called the Akatsuki, which consisted of many deadly shinobi who wished to do whatever it took to achieve their goals. In the end, they resurrected a demon by the name of Otsutsuki Kaguya. With the efforts of all the nations together we were able to seal her once again." Kakashi paused momentarily to take a sip of his tea, and clear his throat.

"That's actually an incredibly short version of what you should really know, but I'll be sure to arrange to have someone speak with you all to give you a much more detailed description of our past. At this point in time, it is imperative for you to have that knowledge to figure out how to combat this situation." At this point, he stood and walked slowly over to a book that was on a shelf near the window.

"I had no knowledge that any of you even existed before three hours ago. The moon in our current times is looked at with fear and disdain because the only thing to come from there has been the evil that overpowered our world twice in history. Most recently only two years ago." Every one of the Senshi's eyes had the same look; shock.

"After meeting with Setsuna-san earlier, I quickly instructed my closest allies to assist me in researching for anything to do with the Sailor Senshi within our restricted history section. This book had the only reference that I could find in our short time of searching," He held up a particularly plain book, which was tattered showing its age.

"When Otsutsuki Kaguya was in her reign and out of control after eating the fruit of the god tree, her two sons, Hagoromo a -" Kakashi was interrupted by Haruka standing up angrily.

"Can you just get to the point and tell us why the hell this monster nearly killed us today!?" The other Senshi grimaced in embarrassment, while they too wanted a quicker explanation, they were shocked Haruka had actually said something so rude.

Kakashi shut the book while still holding eye contact with the fuming Haruka. He hoped to tell them gently, but he shrugged and sat down with a plop.

"Well, I believe that it likely has something to do with the fact that you are all descendants of the Otsutsuki Clan that attacked our nations, and that your deceased Queen Serenity from The Moon Kingdom was Kaguya's sibling… But there's more to it if you wish to be patient."


	2. The Golden Alliance

 

 

Beautiful Disaster

Chapter One: The Golden Alliance

* * *

Setsuna found herself gnashing her teeth and silently seething over the fact that the Hokage had just blurted out to the Senshi what she had kept from telling them all this time. If she had known he would've been so easily riled by Haruka's abrasive personality, she would have considered telling them herself.

"Did you know about this?" Usagi's questioning voice was understandably laced with betrayal.

Setsuna turned to Usagi and sighed, "I did. During the Silver Millennium, your mother made me promise to make it my life's purpose to always protect you girls from this and never tell you. The only way that I could stomach betraying her promise was to have Hatake-san tell you instead of me." Setsuna let her eyes wander around to the others, their faces were still in states of quiet shock.

Momentarily Kakashi had begun to regret his rash decision, he could see how delicate this situation was becoming. If he was going to be able to keep the information concealed that the Senshi were of Otsutsuki descent, he had to keep them all as happy as possible.

One false move from any of the Senshi and politically this world would be moving forward into its next war.

"Forgive me," Kakashi started, drawing the attention back to him before anyone could begin bickering. "I should not have responded that way. I understand that this is a shock to you all, but I assure you I will be able to arrange for you to stay here safely without any civilians learning of your past."

"But why wouldn't people believe us if we told them who we were and how in our land we've saved this same world and  **died**  for this same world multiple times?" Rei spoke up, her mind reeling with questions.

"It would be the same as someone being related to an enemy you have fought in the past coming from our part of the world. How easily would you trust them?" Kakashi posed a good point.

"I would." Kakashi darted his eyes immediately to Usagi, suddenly she resembled Naruto in more ways than just his blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Well, I can assure you there would be at least one person other than myself that would stand by you here as well," Kakashi smiled slightly as he took another sip of his tea. "But unfortunately we have to treat this with the utmost confidentiality. Many villagers lost their homes, jobs, and lives in the war. This world is still recovering from the destruction… Many are still looking for others to blame for their grief."

"Then what if we help them? Isn't there something that we can do to help those who have lost so much?" Mamoru now gained the attention of everyone in the room.

"I think that's a great idea. If we did do that, if it were ever to get out that we are descendants of the enemy while we're here, it would work advantageously in our favor that we have already been seen bonding and help others and never hurting anyone." Ami concluded, thoughtfully looking towards the Hokage, hoping she hadn't spoken out of turn.

Kakashi leaned forward in his chair, hand resting on his masked chin in a pensive manner. These people were almost too altruistic for his taste. Their gesture was kind, but it was strange meeting these future leaders of their world that were so unselfish. He surmised that, albeit peculiar to him, at least they  _were_  true benevolent future rulers.

"I suppose… It would be easier for me to spin the situation a little better to anyone who was becoming suspicious of your conduct here. What kind of skills do you all have?" His eyebrow lifted in curiosity, watching everyone begin to ponder quietly, but he noticed immediately that Usagi started to blush deeply and fidget in her seat.

" _It's a little freaky just how similar they are."_ Kakashi mused in his thoughts, his mind resting briefing on Naruto, as he clearly deduced Usagi lacked many skills.

Kindly taking the opportunity to keep Usagi from getting any more uncomfortable, Kakashi redirected the conversation, "Why don't we figure that out later, and in the meantime I can try again explain a little better what I know about your relation to this world." He took that moment to open the book to the page he had before.

"When Kaguya turned evil after eating the fruit of the god tree, her sister helped the people of Earth to seal Kaguya's husk into the moon and the chakra into the tailed beasts along with the help of Kaguya's sons, Hamura and Hagoromo."

"After that The Elemental Nations began forming as chakra was spread across the land. Earth and The Moon Kingdom relied on one another for many years to keep the sealed power of Kaguya in check. While the two worlds worked together harmoniously, the Nations were continually leery of The Moon Kingdom and the queen's power even though she had allied with Earth against her own sibling... Eventually, after a century The Elemental Nations stopped receiving communication from The Moon Kingdom and thus that shared history was forgotten as generations passed on. Which brings us to all of you here now." He finished, closing the book with a snap.

Makoto's gaze darted over to Setsuna,  _"That's an awfully short explanation…"_ She thought, hoping Setsuna would volunteer more.

"That's it?" Minako quietly asked the question that they all wanted to.

"That's all the information that we found here in our short time of looking, yes. But, assuming that some of you may not be able to find a way to acclimate yourselves easily into our society, you can help by searching in the library." Kakashi smiled warmly in Usagi's direction, as she began to slowly sink in her seat.

"Can you please tell us what you remember, Sestuna-chan? I think Queen Serenity would understand at this point…" Hotaru asked, looking up at the woman whom she considered to be her third mother.

Setsuna thought carefully, lowering her gaze to the ground, her expression becoming unreadable.

"I was brought from The Time Gates to help protect the palace while Queen Serenity went to Earth to seal Kaguya and form the alliance with The Elemental Nations. At that time, none of you had been born yet, and I was very young and remained almost exclusively at The Time Gates. The Moon Kingdom suffered a lot after the betrayal and uprising of Kaguya… Many feared peace would never return like before, but after you were born," She lifted her eyes to Usagi, "There began a new era of peace, and The Moon Kingdom seemed as though they were back on track." Setsuna paused, it was difficult saying this to the girls. She wasn't supposed to speak of it. But this also was not supposed to have happened in the timeline of their lives.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and pressed on, "The only other time I was involved directly was during the fall of The Moon Kingdom. During that time was when I had sworn to protect you from this information. I never actually learned a lot about why things happened. The Queen considered speaking of her sister as taboo. I assume she held a large amount of guilt in her heart for having to not only seal her sister away, but that she was unable to save her."

Seeing that Setsuna was becoming more than slightly uncomfortable talking about the past she was never to speak of, Kakashi spoke up, "Earlier today, Meioh-san was able to direct me to the actual edict that was set in place by your mother many centuries ago." Kakashi's eyes locked with Usagi's as he pulled out a crumpled scroll, which was glowing a faint crimson, and placed it on the table in front of them.

"It doesn't state much, but it identifies the seal of the Silver Alliance with The Moon Kingdom and Queen Serenity's child and her guardians. The edict was revised once the formation of The Elemental Nations formed so they too could all be in agreeance of the alliance as you can see on this scroll before us."

He took a moment to stand and walk to the window looking out over Konoha. He heard one of the chairs move and he turned around to see Usagi now standing, her hands pressed to each side of the scroll as she read it herself.

Before him no longer stood a squirming girl, but instead, her features donned the look of a true queen and leader. His eyes took in the scene before him, this was truly a remarkable moment in history he currently found himself a part of. If what the book stated about these women was true, they could destroy worlds.

"The Elemental Nations and The Moon Kingdom are hereby under the protection of one another as a formation of The Silver Alliance including, Konoha, Suna, Iwa, Kumo, Oto, and The Moon Kingdom after the sealing of Outstuki Kaguya." Usagi finished reading and her gaze lingered solely on the signature of her mother as tears pricked her eyes. It was actually true. Her own family member had tried to kill the very Earth she loved.

"Tsukino Usagi, if you would please sign this declaration with me to decree the beginning of the Golden Alliance." The Hokage was now across the desk from her once again, her eyes still threatening to spill tears. She looked behind her to each of her Senshi, their eyes were focused intently on their queen but it was clear the feeling was unanimous.

Usagi felt a hand on her waist and looked to see her husband's smiling face now standing beside her.

"We're all behind you, my queen." Her heart thrummed at his words as she pursed her lips in determination. She turned her attention back to the Hokage who was now politely offering her a pen.

Beside her mother's ancient one, was now the signature of the reigning Queen Serenity.

Kakashi finished his signature that which was placed next to that of Hashirama Senju.

"Each of the reigning Kages will have to sign this reinstating the reformed edict, and I'm sure you will gain their endorsement. Welcome to Konoha, Sailor Senshi." Setsuna found herself somewhat astonished to see such a reversal in the man's demeanor; she could now see just why he was the leader of this country.

"Now," Kakashi started as he placed the scroll inside his desk, "Our goal now is to find out why and how White Zetsu was alive, and why exactly he came for you all-" Kakashi was interrupted by the approaching shouting growing ever closer to his office door.

"Ah. It seems my council has learned you are here." His voice was warm, giving no indication that he was highly annoyed that he was about to deal with the Elders.

"Why don't you all step out and I'll have Shizune work with you to come up with ideas as to where you can help out around the village while you're staying here?"

* * *

After meeting with Shizune in another conference room and discussing everyone's personal hobbies and talents, she as able to help configure where each Senshi would fit best within Konoha. Utterly embarrassed at the shouting that could still be heard from within the Hokage's office, Shizune concluded it would be best to take a tour around Konoha of everyone's workplace.

She paused to quickly send out three hawks with message scrolls attached to their legs and then proceeded to lead them outside. She hoped walking around Konoha may brighten the mood of the downtrodden group, though she couldn't blame them for their distress.

Shizune first showed them the way to the Naka Shrine and as they ascended the stairs to the shrine Rei felt a warming nostalgia filling her chest. This shrine was Shinto, and it reminded her dearly of home.

"The shrine belonged to the once prosperous Uchiha Clan of the village. Currently only one of the clan members is alive, and the community had recently decided to restore the shrine for use once again and has been looking for members of the community to help take care of it." Shizune opened the sliding dojo screen allowing them access inside.

"Will you be comfortable working here on your own for the time being?" Shizune asked as Rei slid her finger along a wooden railing that was teeming with thick layers of dust. Just how long had they left this newly reassembled shrine to be neglected?

"Of course. I'm sort of used to taking care of my shrine back home almost exclusively by myself. A little bit of dusting and polishing and this place will look wonderful." The miko smiled, placing her hands on her hips, envisioning just how honorable the place would look when she was finished with it.

"Why isn't the lone survivor helping restore the building?" Michiru asked as she waved away a plume of dust they had disturbed while walking into the shrine.

"Ehm, he is often out on missions outside of Konoha and doesn't have much time to take care of the place." Shizune smiled uncomfortably, unsure if she should get into the details of Sasuke's life at this point in time. She began to usher them to their next location, Konoha Hospital.

As they began making their way back through town, Makoto progressively found herself being pulled out of her stupor thanks to the refreshing and calming sensation the village gave off. It seemed so unlikely that war had ravaged the land merely two years prior.

" _Everyone looks so happy here. The trees, the fresh air, and everyone is so kind."_ She thought, her green eyes taking every bit of the blissful world in. She wondered if they would still be receiving the same compassion from the villagers if everyone knew their connection with Kaguya.

"Unfortunately during the war, the hospital along with many of the other buildings were destroyed. Only recently have some of the buildings been fully renovated." Shizune spoke, leading them up the pathway and into the large emergency entrance of the hospital.

The automatic doors zoomed open as they stepped inside, the sterile scent was heavy as they made their way quietly towards the elevator.

"Shizune-san!" They all turned around to find the source of the voice, before them was a petite pinkette donning a red qipao and a nursing apron.

"Ah, Sakura, you were just the person I was looking for. These are the visitors I informed you that would be coming, everyone this is Haruno Sakura, she is our head medic here who studied under the fourth Hokage herself." Shizune beamed with pride, Sakura smiled to all of them in greeting, a slight heat upon her cheeks at the woman's boasting. Sakura let her eyes stay connected with Setsuna's for a moment longer than they had with any of the others before she averted her gaze elsewhere.

"It's wonderful to have you all here, Shizune informed me I would have the pleasure of working alongside two of you during the duration of your stay?" Sakura could sense the strain in each person's chakras before her. The always mindful medic side of her wished she could be so bold as to reach out and assuage each of their worries with her calming chakra, but she knew better.

"Yes, Mizuno Ami and Tomoe Hotaru will be under your tutelage. Mizuno-san is an aspiring doctor and Tomoe-san has a natural affinity for healing." Both Ami and Hotaru stepped forward and slightly bowed to their soon-to-be superior.

"Thank you for allowing us to work beside you," Ami spoke softly with a high amount of respect in her voice. She was doing her best to stay calm, as she was internally elated to have the privilege to work with such a high-ranking medic from this unknown country.

"We look forward to learning all that you can teach us." Hotaru smiled warmly, her violet eyes taking note of the green diamond in the center of the woman's forehead.

"I look forward to it as well." Sakura was pleased to see that they appeared to be enjoyable people to work alongside.

"Why don't we all go upstairs together and we can show you where you'll be working with Sakura-san?" Shizune asked, pressing the button to the elevator once again as it had already come and left during their conversation.

Sakura clicked her tongue as she looked at her watch, "Sorry, but I actually was on my way out to meet with Ino at Yamanaka Flowers." Sakura apologized, her mouth twisted into a small frown.

"That's quite alright, I know the hawk I sent was short notice. Actually though, Yamanaka was the next stop on my list. Kino-san will be helping there during their stay." Shizune turned around, holding her hand out to gesture in the direction of Makoto.

"Oh, well, I can take her there if you'd like me to?" Sakura asked, she was more than polite when it came to Shizune. Sakura had worked alongside the woman for so long and even currently shared her office with her in the medical ward.

Shizune smiled gleefully, appreciative of her always courteous coworker, "That would be lovely, I still have to take them to the Academy and the Library yet, so that would work out nicely. Thank you, Sakura." The elevator dinged and came to a heavy halt behind the group just as Shizune finished.

"Alright, looks like we're going up now." Shizune ushered the remaining Senshi and Mamoru into the large elevator, while Makoto stepped forward towards Sakura. Makoto cast an unsure glance towards Setsuna, but the moss-haired woman nodded with a small smile, assuring Makoto with her silent gesture that she would be fine on her own.

"Ino and I can drop her back off at the library when we're finished," Sakura spoke, giving a small wave as Shizune nodded in approval.

"We'll meet back up with you soon, Mako-chan." Usagi smiled at her lightning Senshi as the doors shut, leaving Makoto alone with the woman she had only just met. She desperately wanted to push the button to the elevator and be beside Usagi again, being separated after everything that happened today didn't feel right.

"I hope it's alright we did this, poor Shizune is always running herself ragged trying to do too much at once. She works both for the Hokage as well as here at the hospital part-time." Sakura could see Makoto's form was rigid and was easily able to sense that the woman was unnerved by being alone with her. The brunette turned towards the medic, and gave her the best fake smile that she could muster.

"No, it's fine. To be honest it's just a lot to take in in one day. Thank you for the personal tour." The tall brunette followed in the shorter pinkette's footsteps as they made their way back outside into the warm air.

"It's my pleasure, it's not every day that you get to meet someone from a different country that saves the world." Makoto looked down at her, eyes wide and mouth faintly falling open, her brows were furrowed as if she may have even been considering to attack Sakura.

"Don't worry," Sakura's bell-like chuckle filled the air as she quickly noticed Makoto's expression. "Kakashi-sensei spoke with me before you all arrived and told us how you're all are here to learn new fighting techniques and that your way of repaying us is working around the village when you can." She hoped to do all she could to relax the woman next to her, but she could understand her surprise at learning Sakura was in on something so secretive.

"It's a bit ironic that Mizuno-san and Tomoe-san are able to work with me since I'm also assigned as added security to your mission. Although, you really shouldn't be needing it. Only a bare minimum of people know in order to keep your secret safe." Sakura admitted, not noticing Makoto was processing the lie that the medic had been told by the Hokage.

" _The Hokage could've warned us about this so we could've been a little more prepared… I was ready to fight this girl thinking she was the enemy in disguise."_  Makoto grumbled to herself inwardly, though she gave the Hokage credit for being able to so quickly prepare things for the Senshi in the small time between Setsuna speaking to him and bringing them here.

"So, what's it like where you live?" Sakura tucked her short hair behind her ear as she and Makoto's eyes connected, it was clear the girl was doing her best to make Makoto feel more comfortable.

"Well, it's loud - compared to here anyway. There's no nature around us, everyone is always in a hurry, but it's still a nice place. Some of our buildings go thousands of feet in the air. It's really very different from here. I like it here though, you're so close to nature; it's soothing." Makoto caught herself inhaling a lung full of the humid earthy scents as they continued through the streets.

Sakura pictured it in her head as best as she could, a thin smile on her lips, "I think that sounds nice in a way, it gets a little old after a while living in a place where everyone knows everyone."

"You know, I never really thought of it like that…" Makoto mused, a lightness in her voice, watching as children leaned over the edge of the bridge that the two women were now walking across. The children were tossing paper cranes in the water below.

Sakura followed Makoto's gaze, noticing the fondness in her eyes, "Do you have children of your own?"

Makoto snapped her head back to Sakura, her face matching the kunoichi's hair, "No, gosh no. I'm not even dating anyone…" She admitted, her tone a mix of embarrassed and melancholy.

"Forgive me, you just looked sad for a moment so I wondered if you had a child you had to leave behind during this time." Trying to think of a way to ease the woman's embarrassment she had just caused after trying to make her more comfortable, Sakura elected to open up a little about herself in return.

"I don't have any yet either, I hope to one day soon though. I've accomplished my goals career-wise, and now that peace is here it's time to move on from always fighting." Sakura's eyes softened as they rested on her empty ring finger. Taken aback by Sakura's openness, Makoto began to feel a little guilty that the woman didn't know the truth that there was a threat that emanated from the kunoichi's very country.

"I feel the same as you, I just have to find someone first. Although I haven't had a chance to accomplish my career goals, I'm hoping that working in this flower shop will help with that when we return home." Makoto smiled, she was sure this would teach her a few lessons about owning your own business which she knew she needed. Hopefully they would be able to return home safely so she could do that.

"Sakura-chaaan!" The two women paused on the bridge they were making their way over as the loud voice turned their attention behind them. A young man with sunny blonde hair waved enthusiastically while a petite woman walked at his side.

"You weren't kidding about everyone knowing everyone," Makoto muttered causing Sakura to giggle softly as the pair made their way closer towards them.

"Oi, is the teme back yet?" He asked loudly with a smile, he was still a good ten feet from them.

"Not yet, I think he's expected back this evening or tomorrow." Naruto's attention turned from Sakura to the tall woman next to his teammate. "Ah, who are you?"

"This is Kino Makoto, she's staying here for a while as she and her friends have traveled to learn about our culture. They are honored guests of the Hokage, show some respect, Naruto." Sakura chided the young man and his eyes grew wide with delight.

"It's nice to meet you, Kino-san, I'm Hyuuga Hinata. I hope you have a lovely time while here in Konoha." The woman next to Naruto, as Sakura referred to him, was stunning.

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Konoha is a great place, make sure you try Ichiraku Ramen!" The blonde was grabbing Makoto's hand shaking it firmly before she even had a chance to offer it to him. When he pulled his hand back she found a coupon for the very restaurant he spoke of now in her grasp.

She chuckled and smiled warmly to the two of them, how is possible everyone here was so kind?

"Naruto!" Sakura screeched, pounding her fist into her open palm. "You can't just treat her so disrespectfully, and I'm sure she has a finer palate than ramen!"

"No, no, it's really alright! I really don't like formalities, please you call me Makoto. Thanks for the coupon, I'll probably need around nine more." She grinned, she supposed it wouldn't be a bad idea for the Senshi to use this as an opportunity to be seen making friends amongst the villagers. It may also make their stay feel a little less depressing.

"Nine more!?...You must really like ramen." Naruto whistled, impressed someone loved ramen as much as he did to eat it ten times in a row.

"She means for her nine other friends, you idiot." Sakura seethed, hoping Makoto didn't think all of Konoha was like her blonde teammate.

"They're all here with their leader from the Land of Crystal which is along the ends of Konoha's borders. Kakashi-sensei recently made a pact to keep them under our protection. In the meantime they're helping out in the village, I was just taking Makoto-san to Ino's where she'll be stationed." At that Sakura began leading them in the direction they had been walking before being stopped. Makoto wasn't sure if that's what Sakura was told to tell everyone about them or if she had simply made it up on the fly. She followed behind Sakura as did Naruto and Hinata to continue the conversation.

"Well, why don't we all have dinner at Ichiraku then?" He paused to look at Hinata for approval as she nodded with a kind smile.

"Naruto-kun they only just got here. Why don't we let them get settled first?" The Hyuuga heiress asked before Sakura could scold Naruto once again for not thinking things through.

"We could probably do it tomorrow." Makoto offered in conclusion, a finger resting on her chin. It felt so strange to be making plans like this. So quickly they were being welcomed here with open arms, and for a moment it felt like they weren't in danger and instead had just come to visit this unknown land like their fake story said.

"Sasuke-kun may even be back as well by then and could join too." Makoto's eyes darted to the pink-haired kunoichi as she whispered to herself. Makoto immediately noticed the new tint to the girl's cheeks.

"I'd like to spar with your leader if you think he would agree?" Makoto sputtered through her lips which fell into a loud laugh. It was the first time Sakura had seen the woman give an honest jovial expression.

"Usagi-chan isn't much of a sparring partner. She's our leader, but she's more of a healer I guess you could say. She would never fight for training purposes, though I think one or two of the others would be willing to spar." Makoto thought keenly of herself and Haruka with that statement.

Naruto chuckled triumphantly, as they reached the shopfront of Yamanaka Flowers. He was definitely looking forward to that, there was nothing he loved better than learning new ways to fight with people. It intrigued him to think that there was a leader who didn't want to fight though. He was definitely interested in meeting her.

"Alright, well we'll let you meet with Ino-san. We look forward to possibly eating with you all tomorrow." Hinata smiled as she and Sakura nodded in agreement.

"See you tomorrow!" Naruto tossed over his shoulder with his notorious ear-to-ear grin as he and Hinata walked away together.

"Sorry about that," Sakura started, still watching the pair leave. "He's a really amazing guy, but sometimes he's unbearable when he doesn't understand common curtesy." Sakura opened the door to the shop, the bells chiming peacefully to signify their entrance.

"It's okay, he actually reminds me of Usagi-chan in a way." Makoto smirked, her eyes already enamored with all the plants surrounding them inside the shop.

The sound of the front desk bell being rung pulled Makoto away from surveying the plants. Sakura had lazily rested her hand on her chin and was persistently ringing the bell.

"Where is that pig?" She grumbled under her breath, watching as Makoto began nosing around the store at the different plants. This was a dream come true as far as she was concerned.

"Look Ino, I don't care what it is just so long as it can live in the desert."

"Okay, well all I can offer you is a cactus or a succulent! I can't help it that she lives in a place where plants can't thrive! Why are you even here so early in the day anyway? You can't be lazy and skip out early when you work for Hokage-sama, you lazy bum!"

Makoto found herself gravitating towards the faint voices towards the back of the shop, they grew louder with every step she took. The doorway to the back was open and through the dirty window next to it Makoto could see the back of a blonde woman's head as she argued with a man in a green flak jacket.

"I wonder what Shikamaru is doing here for flowers…" Makoto hadn't even noticed Sakura standing next to her until she spoke. Perhaps the Senshi needed to take a lesson or two from these shinobi…

"Look," Shikamaru started, refusing to answer the latter part of Ino's question, "I'm not giving her a cactus. It comes off too harsh, she already always misunderstands what I'm trying to say." He pushed his fingers against his temple, the last thing he wanted to deal with after his eventful afternoon was Ino's shrill voice. He just wanted a nice flower that wouldn't be received offensively.

"Dammit, Shikamaru-"

"Mariposa Lily." Ino turned around to find Sakura standing next to an exceedingly tall brunette in the doorway to the outdoor greenhouse.

"What?" Shikamaru asked defensively, sweat dripping down his brow and he suspected it wasn't from the excess humidity that the greenhouse gave off. He was even more uncomfortable than before to see Sakura and some unknown woman clearly eavesdropping on his semi-argument with his teammate.

Ino knocked her fist into her open palm in realization, her face lighting up. "Yes!" She shouted merrily and dashed off quickly, her long blonde hair trailing behind her.

"Mariposa Lily. It blooms into a flower, it's not a cactus, and can live in arid desert climates." Makoto felt heat rise slightly to her cheeks as she realized she probably shouldn't have butted into the conversation.

"Tch. Just who is this Sakura, a new employee?" Makoto felt embarrassed herself, she had clearly discomforted the person by weaseling her way into the conversation she had no right to be a part of.

"In a way. She's one of the ten people who came from The Land of Crystals this afternoon that Kakashi-sensei put the mandate out about." Sakura smirked, knowing he'd rue his rude comment as soon as she revealed just who the woman was.

Shikamaru's eyes grew wider as they darted back over to Makoto. He wasn't sure how much of the truth Sakura knew about the women and so he chose to keep his reaction to a minimum.

"I see. Forgive my candidness. Nara Shikamaru, I am the Hokage's assistant, thank you for your aid and welcome to Konoha." Makoto was stunned at the improvement in the man's reaction. He clearly took his position seriously, but if he was the Hokage's assistant, it was his job to be as diplomatic as possible.

"Kino Makoto, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation. It just slipped out when I overheard you looking for a specific kind of flower, it's a hobby of mine." She chuckled while scratching the back of her head, it made her almost uncomfortable to see how different he was just because she was in a respected position here.

"Got it! Mariposa Lily! And it's about to bloom too, it's perfect." Ino hopped back to the doorway, now behind the three of them.

"I assume you're Kino Makoto? Shizune sent a hawk letting me know you would be arriving before we closed up this evening." Ino beamed brightly at the Senshi. Knowing this it allowed Makoto to deduce Ino likely knew as much as Sakura. She was going to have to convene with the Senshi this evening and have one hell of a conversation so everyone could try to remember just who knew what.

"Yes, sorry about interrupting your conversation." Makoto apologized for the second time as they all walked back into the main shop towards the counter.

"Ah, don't worry about it." Ino waved nonchalantly as she walked behind the counter and began typing into the register. "Shikamaru's just embarrassed because it's for a girl."

Shikamaru felt ice run through his veins as Sakura snickered while eyeing him.

"Oh, well the Mariposa Lily does represent unconditional love and the embrace of warmth, so that should work out nicely." Makoto turned around to him with a smile that was so warm and reassuring he couldn't retaliate without seeming inappropriate.

He gritted his teeth and in one swoop slammed the money on the counter and grabbed the plant in the crook of his arm. As soon as he stomped outside, without a word, he lit up a cigarette.

"Damn women." He growled, expelling a plume of smoke as he walked away.

Makoto sweat-dropped while she eyed the two females who were now gasping for air as their laughter rang throughout the store.

"Ah, that was great. You'll fit in perfectly here, Kino-san." Ino wiped the small bit of moisture from the corner of her eye. To see Shikamaru put into a position where he was forced to keep his cool in front of a diplomat was priceless.

"He's probably not going to be my biggest fan now is he." Makoto shrugged as she bit the corner of her lip. She hadn't meant to be offensive, but she now knew she could've at least read his body language to know he preferred to keep the information private.

"Don't worry over it. He knows it was Ino-pig who instigated it, not you." Sakura glanced to her friend as the blonde began to shut down the register for the night.

"You encouraged it as well, forehead," Ino grumbled somewhat playfully as she cashed out the register and placed the money into a lockbox.

"So, Kino-san, I don't feel like I'll have much to show you around here other than how to use the register. You've made it abundantly clear you're more than knowledgeable of the flora. I look forward to having a partner to help out around here." Ino clapped her hands together as she ushered the two women out into the late afternoon streets.

* * *

Makoto had taken so long that the Senshi were already on their way out of the library when she arrived in stride with Ino and Sakura. Usagi ran to Makoto, flinging her arms around her neck, allowing all of her weight to hang from her friend.

"Mako-chan. Please. Let me work at the flower shop with you!" Usagi whined as Makoto patted her back and she couldn't help but laugh at her queen's expense. Minako rushed over to Makoto as well, hanging from the other side of the lightning Senshi.

"Yes! Please take us! Mamoru can work at the library on his own! I need to be in the city where the action and the cute guys are!" Minako wailed alongside their leader, luckily Makoto was strong enough to support the weight of the two women as they hung on her.

"Sorry, I would if I could, but we should listen to the Hokage-sama." Makoto laughed as she set the two women firmly on their feet. Makoto actually relished the moment of having the two in her arms and so close again. It had been a difficult day for them all and being back by their side made her chest swell; it just felt right.

Makoto looked down at the still playfully wailing girls, she knew they were trying to be as normal as they could given the situation they were all now in. She gently patted the two girls' heads with a warm smile as she laughed. She vowed to herself she would make sure Usagi could find some happiness and normalcy while they were here.

Rei sighed in annoyance next to Makoto as she eyed her future queen.

"Have some decency. We're in the middle of the streets right now, and two people you just met are standing right here watching you both act this way!" The miko couldn't help but be agitated with them even though she herself was thankful to not be working in the library.

"Rei-chan, you don't understand my pain! You just get to be a priestess again! That's so easy!" Rei sighed once more, moving away from the two howling blondes. There was no point arguing with her, Usagi would always act how she wanted regardless of who was watching.

"Sakura, Ino, thank you for escorting Kino-san back. I'll be taking them to their residency now. You girls have a nice evening." Shizune smirked nervously as the women continued to cry.

"You're welcome. Make sure you take breaks every now and then." Sakura smiled at the older woman, she could clearly see she was more stressed out than usual today. It meant a lot for Shizune to show the exhaustion so outwardly.

"It was nice meeting you all, hopefully we can all eat dinner tomorrow if that works for everyone." Sakura waved as she and Ino took their leave.

After the two friends had put enough distance between the group and themselves Ino was the first to speak.

"Well, now I know why you made such urgent plans to meet with me this evening…"

Sakura didn't answer her friend just yet. Ino eyed Sakura in slight suspicion, the medic appeared to be hiding something.

"What do you think is really going on? I know they're learning from us, but why did they come here? Why did they choose us?" Ino asked, her voice was soft but it didn't take away from the worried tone in her speech.

"I'm not sure. Kakashi-sensei was only able to brief me with what he deemed was appropriate to know. Makoto clearly has the body of a fighter, but their leader… She's interesting. They are all so different." Sakura scratched the back of her head and sighed looking towards the now fading sun. There were so many things that felt wrong about this encounter.

"Well, hopefully we can get them to eat dinner tomorrow and we can learn a little more. Once they all know we were told about them being superheroes, maybe we can get them drunk and get a little more information out of them…"

"Ino, that almost sounds cruel. I don't distrust them perse… It's just, I don't know. Kakashi-sensei's reaction was what threw me the most." Sakura ruminated as her mind faded back to her interaction with him this afternoon when Sailor Pluto had first appeared. "He was definitely worried about something. In my opinion, if they're coming here to learn some new fighting techniques, it says to me they can't handle the enemy that attacked them."

While tucking a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear, Ino flicked her eyes back to Sakura's, "What if their enemy follows them here…"

"My thoughts exactly. We just have to trust that Kakashi-sensei has the villages' best interest secured. He would never allow people here that could hurt us."

* * *

"Ugh, can't we stop already? This is all too confusing. Why couldn't everyone just be told the truth?" Usagi whined as she slithered her head under a couch pillow, attempting to block out Setsuna's voice.

"No. We have to make sure we get the story straight. I'll meet with Hatake-san in an hour to ensure we have it correct. Iruka, Ino, Sakura know we're from Tokyo and are Senshi but think we're here to train. Shizune, Kakashi, and Shikamaru know everything. The rest of the city is being told we're from the Land of Crystals and are under the protection of Konoha as a newly formed village, you are our leader and we are your protectors." Setsuna's voice was stern as she eyed Usagi and Mamoru while they sat in the common room of their shared condo. Setsuna knew she should've asked Shizune to write it down when she told her yesterday who knew what, but she didn't want to the bother the already overloaded woman.

The Hokage had graciously arranged for them to stay it in the condo, even though it was actually for the use of real Daimyous and diplomatic officials who were here on business. They took up the largest condo, leaving only one other condo - which happened to also be currently occupied.

"If you get it right, you can go." Usagi was the only one left in the room except for Mamoru, who had elected to stay feeling bad for his wife. Everyone else had gotten the story straight and proceeded to make their way to their 'day jobs' that morning.

Haruka and Michiru had already made their way to Konoha Academy to teach their lessons with Iruka before any of the Senshi had woken up. Soon enough the other Senshi filed out of the house to go to their jobs all save for Usagi. Mamoru hoped Minako had made it to the library at all; he knew she didn't want to work there just as much as Usagi and was sure she would seek out any distraction she could find.

"Come on, Usako, just try again. This _is_  really important." Mamoru encouraged her, he knew as much as Setsuna that it was incredibly vital for them to keep their alibi airtight.

"Iruka, Ino, Sakura know…. Everything.- No! They know  _almost_  everything. And… Everyone thinks I'm a leader from The Land of Crystal?... Can't I just only ever act like I'm the leader of The Land of Crystal? That would be so much easier…" Usagi looked up from her pillow and Setsuna let out a relenting sigh; it was good enough for now.

"Alright. You can go." Usagi was already racing out the door, her odangos flying wildly behind her.

"I'll be following after her to make sure she knows where she's going. Thanks again, Setsuna." Mamoru smiled kindly to the Senshi of Time, she nodded back with a polite smile.

Setsuna let a drawn-out sigh leave her lips for the umpteenth time that morning. She couldn't be as hard on Usagi as she wanted to be; they could all see that she was covering her fear and worry as best as she could after learning she was related to a monster that killed so many. It was evident she was having doubts about herself and how to move forward, but it was Setsuna's job to alleviate her future queen's worry.

Even Haruka - whom Setsuna expected a couple of outbursts from the evening before - was sternly silent, they all grasped how fragile Usagi's constitution was at the moment. If there was one thing Usagi had never dealt with before, it was learning she had the lineage of a monster within her.

Setsuna walked to the door, flicked out the lights, and began making her way outside as well. Perhaps she could meet with Kakashi sooner than they had planned. She would be working with him closely each day to try and piece together as much information as possible on how White Zetsu had been alive and how he found the Senshi.

Setsuna had failed Queen Serenity on so many levels. She must have done something wrong along the course of this timeline, but she couldn't figure out what.

"That disgusting creature." She spat quietly to herself, the morning streets of Konoha were somewhat empty; it was clear that it was a little too early for the morning rush. Her mind raced back to yesterday to when she had grabbed the body of Zetsu.

* * *

With the twisted and mashed body in her grasp, Sailor Pluto knew exactly where to go. She couldn't bear to look at her fellow Senshi as she teleported herself out of Tokyo. Her boots landed firmly with an authoritative stomp as her portal opened within the office of the Rokudaime, Hatake Kakashi.

Kakashi abruptly stood, stunned to see a war-torn foreign woman, in an oddly scandalous fuku, gripping the body of Zetsu who was dripping putrid fluids onto his floor.

He charged at her, Chidori already festering in his hand.

"You will not touch me, Hatake Kakashi!" Sailor Pluto commanded with a booming voice, slamming her now glowing Time Staff into the ground, effectively freezing his body a mere three feet from her. A garnet-colored force field surrounded her body and his movements slowed to a sludge-like crawl.

"I am not your enemy. In fact, it appears we still share the same one." She tossed the body to the ground, it made a repulsive noise when it hit the floor. Her breathing was becoming too labored. She still had not recovered enough strength from her battle with the creature.

"I cannot hold you here anymore, my body is too taxed. I'm going to release this, so please do not harm me. I have come for your aid as a part of the Pact of the Silver Alliance of The Moon Kingdom." She lifted her staff, pounding it into the ground once more - albeit with much less gusto - releasing the barrier.

She felt her body slammed agonizingly against the wall, effectively pinning her there. Kakashi's hand, which was screeching like hundreds of birds, was now only inches from her face.

"Prove it." He seethed at the woman who made no effort to fight back, her garnet eyes merely glared deep into his.

"I am the Soldier of the Afterlife and Change, Guardian of Time and Chronos, Sailor Pluto. Under your desk is a panel in the floorboards that can be removed with a series of hand signs. It is only known to the Hokages. Inside of it lies one scroll that was to be used when the time came that we needed the assistance of The Elemental Nations. Read it. It will react to my presence."

So she knew about the secret panel, but that didn't mean too much, but when he had accessed the panel in the past, he hadn't recalled seeing a document like she was describing. He studied her, he deduced she hardly had any strength left, and from what he could see that truly  _was_  a dead Zetsu she had lobbed onto his floor. He dared not take his eyes off the woman, whatever power she had performed without the use of any hand signs and that did not bode well for the Hokage.

"I will give you my staff if that will make you trust me. It holds nearly all of my power." She offered in a weaker voice, leaning it towards the man as if she had read his mind. But he made no move to grab it.

"How do you know about the panel? How did you get in here? And why the hell do you have Zetsu's body?" His voice was like gravel as it grated with loaded threats, but the woman gave no indication that she was afraid of him.

"I am the Senshi of Time, I know everything there is to know. I created a portal from my continent on this very same Earth that we share to travel inside of your office to seek your help after killing that monster." She paused abruptly, attempting to make it look like it was on purpose for a dramatic effect, but he could tell she was close to succumbing to her injuries.

He grabbed the staff, and much like the lightning in his hand, in a spark he was at the desk performing the hand signs to open the panel. With his momentary distraction, she allowed her agonizing expression to show as she leaned more gently against the wall. She nearly hissed as she breathed heavily through her teeth, her eyes darting between Kakashi and the dead body every few seconds.

Kakashi's eyes grew wider as they raked over the scroll in his hands. The importance of what this woman spoke of was quickly coming to light. These women had helped seal Kaguya all those years ago.

In an instant the door next to Sailor Pluto ruptured open, a young man appearing from it with utter fear lacing his features and a kunai in hand. She leaned up from the wall, taking a step backward from the new assailant. His eyes darted from her, to the dead body, to the Hokage.

He turned to Sailor Pluto immediately sending the kunai straight towards her, she thanked her reflexes for being able to move her body to the side quickly enough to grab the knife in midair before it hit her. She had no staff and would now be able to use this for her own protection. Before she could put distance between herself and the man, she found she was holding the blade to her own throat.

"Ah- What!?" She screeched, the incredible sharpness of the blade pierced her skin but she couldn't move her body.

"Shikamaru, stop!" Sailor Pluto felt her arm that held the knife to her throat pull away from her skin, but it was still too close for comfort. She could feel her pulse thrumming violently in her neck, the warm liquid was now sliding down and spilling onto her fuku. Her eyes were wild as they connected with the man's who she now learned was called Shikamaru, his body was in the same stance as her's.

"Hokage-sama, what is the meaning of this!?" Shikamaru demanded, his eyes kept looking at the body on the floor.

Kakashi slammed the papers that were in his hands on to the desk violently.

"Dammit Shikamaru, let her go!" Kakashi never yelled, shocking the young jounin. Kakashi was the calm Hokage who was almost as lazy as he was. He released the woman as ordered.

Sailor Pluto's shoulders slumped back against the wall as she placed pressure on her neck with her gloved hand. The blood spilled freely over the white gloves and on to the floor that she had now crumpled down to.

"Get Shizune or Sakura- or any medic. Now!" Kakashi roared at the young man who had already left before he finished. Kakashi was at her side, his own hand now on her neck covering her own blood-soaked glove.

"My Senshi, they have to come here today. The world we share is not safe. My Queen is not safe. If she dies, we all do." Suddenly the woman, who could have passed as a deadly goddess when she arrived, had features that softened under his gaze. Her dark skin was paling under his hands as it clouded over with a cold sheen of sweat. She was now struggling to hold his gaze, and her chakra was nearly slipping into nonexistence.

He scooped the woman into his arms and transported her himself to Konoha Hospital, "Sailor Pluto, you have my word. You will live and so will your Senshi."

He couldn't wait. She was bleeding out. He had maybe four minutes.

He had already landed on the ground from his window before he finished his sentence. He scaled the roofs with precision, holding the woman close. His left hand was likely uncomfortable as it supported the weight of her upper body while it also covered her wound, but he had no choice. The hospital was now in sight.

He leaped to the open window on the third floor of the hospital, and dashed into the hallway. He only had one corner to round to be at her office.

"Sakura!" His voice boomed as he now stood within the walls of the Sakura's personal medic office which lacked the kunoichi he had sought out.

"I'm here! I'm here!" His once subordinate rounded the corner and was at his side. The urgency in her voice indicated Shikamaru had most likely just located her and explained the situation. Sakura quickly swiped everything off of the top of her desk as he placed the Senshi on top of it.

Sailor Pluto whimpered softly in pain as he placed her on the desk. Sakura's hands were on the woman before he had fully released the Senshi. Pluto's eyes glazed over as she stared at the man and woman next to her. Her red hues then sunk shut, no longer able to hold consciousness. Her fuku and other adornments dematerialized into a white blouse and knee-length skirt. The white blouse was quickly soaked in blood, now matching the Hokage's equally blood-stained white robe.

Sakura's chakra searched inside the woman, rapidly forming platelets to coagulate the blood while simultaneously forming cells into new tissue to heal the shredded artery.

Neither of them spoke but she could feel her sensei's quaking chakra.

"She is going to be fine," Sakura whispered a moment later, her sensei gave no response.

"She'll need a transfusion, the cut was on the artery… Her chakra was nearly gone." She was just saying what he already knew. Kakashi's glance flashed to Shikamaru's form that was now guarding the door to Sakura's office. Kakashi couldn't blame him, he was sure he heard the Chidori in his office and the shouting. Shikamaru had only been doing his job.

"Shikamaru, tell one of the nurses I need a rapid blood test in here now and this woman prepped for a transfusion stat." Both men were rattled from their thoughts by Sakura's commanding voice and Shikamaru was gone again without a word.

Kakashi turned back towards the Senshi, the pain was still etched across her features, but he was happy to see the wound was nearly healed; Sakura really was one hell of a medic.

He pulled the now crumpled paper from his pocket. The small scroll was glowing a faint crimson. It was, in fact, reacting to her presence like she said it would. His eyes combed over the words detailed in the edict once again. He sighed knowing he now had to brief not only Shikamaru on this issue but Sakura as well.

"So… Who is this woman?" Kakashi didn't look away from paper in his hands to answer Sakura's question.

"A soldier who needs our help."

Setsuna awoke to the sounds of beeping. She quickly deduced that she was in a hospital room. She sat silently for a moment and when her memory flooded back her hand flew to her neck, but she felt nothing there but soft new skin. She pursed her lips and proceeded to look over the rest of her body; she had an IV in one arm and a blood bag connected to her other. She sat up with a grimace and slowly removed the needles from each arm, apply pressure for a moment to stop the bleeding.

She padded surreptitiously to the door and shut it soundlessly and proceeded to transform. She had a job to finish.

She landed on the ground as Sailor Pluto once more and quickly called forth a portal. Just as she took a step towards it the door to the room began to open, revealing the pink-haired woman who had saved her life.

"Thank you." Sailor Pluto smiled at her, and before Sakura could stop her she was gone.

The shouts of men below her was the first inclination Sailor Pluto received to indicate that she was in the right place. She was back in the Hokage's Office, and a plethora of Shinobi surrounded the body of Zetsu she now stood next to. They had clearly been analyzing it.

Kakashi eyed her with reluctance as he held his hand for the men to lower their guard at her, once again, sudden appearance.

Her eyes connected briefly with The Hokage's. She grabbed the body of the dead Zetsu uttering only the words, "I'll return soon, and when I do, you have to tell my Senshi."

Before she could be stopped, in a flash she had disappeared along with the body.

* * *

Setsuna sat impatiently in Kakashi's office sipping the green tea Shizune had offered her while she waited. Her eyes were fixed almost constantly on the stain the body of Zetsu had left from the day prior. She knew what Kakashi would say when he finally did come to work.

"Ah, it's nice to be greeted by such a lovely face when I come in first thing in the morning." Perhaps she didn't know.

Setsuna's irritated look did not go amiss as Kakashi walked past her to his desk, placing his copy of Icha Icha Paradise upside-down to keep his place marked.

"It's nice to see you've come to work." Her tone of sarcasm also did not go unnoticed.

He slumped down into his chair and rested his hands behind his head.

"How is your neck?" His question surprised her, but she hid it well.

"It's fine." Her hand found its way up to the place where a scar should have been.

"Sakura's arguably one of the best medics on our continent. As you can see since your skin looks as perfect and untouched as ever."

"Please, stop," Setsuna commanded more than asked. She wasn't used to this annoying flattery, and she didn't want it. It created a lack of trust for her that he didn't take the situation they were in seriously.

"My Senshi could be killed at any moment and the last thing I need are your inappropriate advances."

He sighed while leaning back in his chair, casting his eyes to the stain on the floor. This was just how he dealt with women like Setsuna, the cold and rigid kind that were no-nonsense. Now was the first time the two of them had been alone to discuss things since she had first arrived the day before.

"How are they adjusting?" He chose to ask without acknowledging her complaint.

"They'd be better if you hadn't told them so candidly. But they made their way to their jobs today. Makoto is helping Rei prep Naka Shrine since the flower shop is closed today. They plan to eat dinner at Ichiraku Ramen with some of the villagers they've met."

Kakashi could already imagine who offered such an invitation.

"Going to eat will be good for them, it'll calm their nerves and allow them to feel a small sense of peace while here. Making actual bonds with the villagers will help in more ways than manipulation for possible issues in the future." He paused momentarily, tapping his finger on the desk as if he was deciding to keep going.

"They seemed fairly docile in our meeting after learning what happened to you when you first came here." He watched Setsuna's mouth tighten a fraction more than it already had been prior to that comment. It was clear she wasn't going to look him in the eyes again.

She scratched her forehead and fluffed her bangs out of her eyes, "I saw no need to tell them. They were under enough distress, and seeing me return healed from our battle with that creature had to be encouraging for them. I need to thank Sakura-san properly when given the chance."

"I dismissed Shikamaru for the remainder of the day yesterday after the incident. I hope you can understand he was simply doing his job." If Kakashi was nervous saying that, he never showed it.

"You shouldn't have. He is clearly good at what he does. I harbor no ill will towards him. In fact, seeing some of the powers you all possess has made me feel like I made the right decision to bring my Senshi here as we find a way to stop this." Setsuna strummed her thumb slowly against the still warm teacup as she spoke, the ability of the medics were unlike any healing powers she had ever witnessed.

"The Elders don't quite know what to make of all of this. To be honest I'm still processing it myself. I'll be having a meeting with the other leaders of this continent soon, they are all Kages as well." Setsuna nodded, her tensed attitude began to subside, she was happy he was taking this a bit more seriously.

"We need that body back."

She knew that was coming.

She looked up at the Hokage, she could see no smirk under the taut mask as they made eye contact.

"No."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really fought with myself about cutting this into two chapters because I didn't want it to drone on, but I didn't like how it flowed when I separated it, so you get a double chapter this time!
> 
> I have to say I had a blast writing this chapter though. I did write it in a confusing way on purpose, I personally love puzzling things together that way so that you really have to pay attention to everything you read and even go back and re-read certain parts once you have more information. It also allows the reader to really get a feel of Setsuna's secretive nature. So now we know why it took Setsuna longer to get back to Hikawa Shrine, why Setsuna reassured Makoto to be comfortable going with Sakura, and why Shikamaru was so uncomfortable around Makoto after realizing who she was.
> 
> Sorry no Akatsuki just yet, I had originally planned for this chapter to be when they arrived, but this story really requires a lot more world building before everything goes to hell. We can expect them to arrive very soon though. : ) I hope it doesn't bore everyone to see them still in Konoha with world building, but I just felt it extremely necessary and normal for them to find a sense of everyday life and interaction with the villagers.
> 
> I know there are TONS of loose ends that are not yet answered, but I assure you I've got all the answers and can't wait to slowly plant them in each chapter because they're all a part of the plot. But please feel free to ask away even if they haven't been addressed yet because perhaps you see something that needs to be answered that I've forgotten to plan for.
> 
> Let me know what you thought of the style of this chapter. If many of you found it too confusing I'll be sure to tone it down and make it fairly linear storytelling from here on out. I just feel like this way is a lot more entertaining. ; )
> 
> Next chapter we see the whole SM cast interacting with a good chunk of the Naruto cast, we get a deeper glimpse into how the Senshi are stomaching the information that they're not made of the purest past, and they begin to piece together some interesting information.
> 
> P.s.
> 
> If you squint really hard, slight Kakashi/Setsuna. This is one of my favorite couples of all time, and if given the chances in later chapters to gently flesh them out I will do so


End file.
